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30 Days of Health

There are two things that are going to make May extra awesome this year. The first is my boxing class is back and I cannot wait to glove up and start hitting things. The second is I have signed up to help raise money for Lyon-Martin Health Services during their 30 Days of Health event. My commitment is to workout for 30 minutes every day in May in the hopes that my friends will sponsor me and kick down a few dollars to Lyon-Martin.

Here is why this organization is awesome:

Lyon-Martin Health Services provides excellent health care to women, lesbians and transgender people in a safe and compassionate environment, with sensitivity to sexual orientation and gender identity; all services are regardless of ability to pay.

Lyon-Martin Health Services is a registered 501(c)3 non-profit organization. Founded in 1979, by a group of medical providers and health activists as a clinic for lesbians who lacked access to nonjudgmental, affordable health care, the clinic soon became a model for culturally sensitive community-based health care. The clinic was named after Phyllis Lyon and Del Martin, feminists and well-known LGBTQ civil rights activists.

Facts & Figures

60% of Lyon-Martin’s patients are lesbian/bisexual/transgender (LBT).

73% are uninsured, 91% have incomes below 200% of the poverty line, and 9% are homeless. 38% are people of color.

LBT people remain one of the most underserved and disconnected populations, facing significant care barriers.

Research shows lesbians often avoid routine health care due to fear of discrimination, and are less likely to have insurance and less be able to afford care than their heterosexual peers.

Transgender people face particular challenges: 2003 data shows that more than 30% of respondents reported discrimination in accessing care.

If I may stand on my soapbox for just a moment…there has been a lot of talk about “women’s health” and near as I can tell this is almost always about birth control…with the occasional nod to breast health (because “save the ta-tas”). I was really happy to learn about a program that specializes in care for lesbians, bisexual and transgender folks and am thrilled to help them keep their services available to LBT women. (edit: it was brought to my attention that I sound like I am saying LBT folks dont need birth control, which was not my intent, I was trying to highlight that women’s health is actually much broader than BC, but I flubbed it up, sorry.)

If you can spare a dollar or two, please head on over to my fundraising page. If you can’t spare a dollar, perhaps you can spare some words of encouragement? My natural state of being is on the couch, so do get in some sort of workout every day for a month is going to be a stretch. Onward!